STILL waiting .......patiently(sort of)

HI all! Last Tuesday my cardiologist left me a message apologizing for not getting back to me a month ago! She wants to discuss my sleep study and some other things prior to surgery but is happy to give me the cardio clearance and med necessity letter. My understanding was that my surgeon's office had that info as of 11/10 and had submitted. Getting info on the Wed before Thanksgiving was craziness. Apparently everything was submitted to my insurance but they(insurance) now wants my Pulmonary clearance before the surgery will be approved. The earliest date I could get was 12/28/05 but the surgeon's office is going to try to get an appointment sooner for me. I guess I am somewhat closer than I thought. Has anyone had to get a Pulmonary clearance? What exactly does that entail? I had to go through a EKG, cardiosonogram, nuclear cardiac stress test and lastly a heart cath(fun!) TO GET MY CARDIO CLEARANCE! I only hope the pulmonary clearance isn't such a mess for me! I SING in vocal ensemble at my church ...often multiple services. I MUST BE FULL OF HOT AIR!!!!!! Yes, I know all this is for my safety going into this surgery.... I have a diagnosis of high blood pressure and sleep apnea as a result of this process. I'm a little skittish about the Pulmonologist..... two of my dearest friends received transplants, one a double-lung and the other a heart-double lung within the past 2 years. I KNOW what kinds of things a Pulmonologist can order ...I've seen first-hand with those two! Even so ......they both did what it took to save their lives. I am doing whatever I need to do to save MY LIFE. Feeling a little impatient, Kathy

I had to get pulmonary clearance. My PCP had his partner put me in a plexi-glass box that heated up to my body temp and then I had to blow into a tube. It lasted about a half an hour. Then at my pre-op date at St. Luke's the nurse upstairs had me blow into a little tube attached to a hand-held meter. Neither one of those tests were bad at all. Sheryl